Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described herein are not prior art to the claims in the present application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Diverticulitis of the colon is one of the most widespread diseases in developed Western countries. It is estimated that about 10 percent of Americans over the age of 40 and about 50 percent of Americans over the age of 60 have diverticulosis. Diverticulitis is caused by infection or inflammation of small pouches in the lining of the colon that bulge outward through weak spots. Such pouches are referred to as diverticula. Inflammation of the diverticula may lead to bleeding, infections, small tears, perforations, or blockages in the colon.
In the absence of treatment, complications associated with diverticulitis may progress causing serious illness. For example, an infection may lead to formation of an abscess in the wall of the colon that, if left untreated, may require further medical treatment. Infected diverticula may develop perforations, rupture, or break open causing intestinal contents to leak or spill out into the surrounding peritoneal cavity which may lead to a serious infection, or even sepsis. For example, the perforations may result in leakage of pus and other intestinal fluids into the surrounding peritoneal cavity forming an intraabdominal abscess, a condition referred to as peritonitis. Peritonitis requires immediate surgery to clean the peritoneal cavity and remove the damaged part of the colon, or it may be fatal.
The main symptomatic treatment of diverticulosis of the colon has involved suppressing inflammation and bleeding using anti-inflammation drugs or antibiotics. In the event of repeated recurrence of diverticulosis, however, surgical removal of the diverticulum is unavoidable. This is a considerable burden on the patient and raises issues such as anti-infection measures after the operation. Furthermore, in the case of surgery in which the diverticulum is removed by using a colonoscope, there has been a risk that the contents of the colon might leak out from the removed portion into the abdominal cavity, resulting in severe peritonitis. Furthermore, removing sections of the colon can impair the natural functioning of the colon resulting in undesirable side effects, such as irregular bowel movements, diarrhea, bladder complications, etc.